From the staff at the Northampton Community College Libraries in Bethlehem and Tannersville, Pennsylvania.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Banned Books Week: Sept. 27 to Oct. 4

Can you imagine a library that's missing your favorite books, just because someone you don't even know decided their content is inappropriate for you -- and everyone else?

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Beloved by Toni Morrison

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

According to the American Library Association (ALA), these are just a handful of the titles that are challenged or banned every year. A challenged book is one whose value has been questioned by a member of the community, and has been requested to be removed from a library, school or other public institution. A banned book is one that has actually been removed from a library or school collection. Books have been challenged for a variety of reasons, including:

content unsuitable for the book's intended age group

sexual content

discriminatory content

offensive language

violence

occult or supernatural themes.

Every year, libraries across the nation celebrate Banned Books Week -- not to encourage challenges or bans, but to promote free and unrestricted access to materials. ALA's Web site states, "BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion, even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them." How do book challenges happen? Here's a typical scenario: a group of parents rally to remove a book, such as The Giver by Lois Lowry, from a middle school library. The challenge imposes their personal views on the entire student body by blocking all students' access to the book.

NCC Library is already prepared for this year's Banned Books Week, Sept. 27-Oct. 4. Our own Miss Gineen, who creates the wonderful displays you see each month, has put together an eye-catching exhibit about BBW (see photos, below). Stop by and take a look at some of the titles that have been banned in the past (you'll be surprised!), answer fun trivia questions, and give us your opinion about book banning. Feel free to take a seat and stay a while, even though the exhibit signs read "Banned" and "Forbidden." Celebrate your freedom to read any title you choose by crossing into the "Banned Book Zone"!